Oral sildenafil for the treatment of Raynaud’s phenomenon and digital ulcers secondary to systemic sclerosis

METHODS AND RESULTS We performed a retrospective chart review of 10 patients with SSc seen at a tertiary care referral centre who were offered sildenafil after standard treatments (calcium channel blockers, α blockers, angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, aspirin, dipyridamole, pentoxify...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annals of the rheumatic diseases 2005-09, Vol.64 (9), p.1387-1387
Main Authors: Gore, J, Silver, R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Biological and medical sciences
Blood and lymphatic vessels
Cardiology. Vascular system
Dermatology
digital ulcers
Diseases of the peripheral vessels. Diseases of the vena cava. Miscellaneous
Drug dosages
Female
Fingers
Humans
Letter
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Piperazines - therapeutic use
Purines
Raynaud disease
Raynaud Disease - drug therapy
Raynaud Disease - etiology
Raynaud’s phenomenon
Retrospective Studies
Sarcoidosis. Granulomatous diseases of unproved etiology. Connective tissue diseases. Elastic tissue diseases. Vasculitis
scleroderma
Scleroderma, Systemic - complications
sildenafil
Sildenafil Citrate
Skin Ulcer - drug therapy
Skin Ulcer - etiology
Sulfones
systemic sclerosis
Ulcers
Vascular disorders of the skin
Vasodilator Agents - therapeutic use
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:METHODS AND RESULTS We performed a retrospective chart review of 10 patients with SSc seen at a tertiary care referral centre who were offered sildenafil after standard treatments (calcium channel blockers, α blockers, angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, aspirin, dipyridamole, pentoxifylline, and/or topical nitrates) had failed. DISCUSSION Sildenafil is a phosphodiesterase V inhibitor that allows accumulation of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP). cGMP causes a decrease in intracellular calcium, and the result is vascular smooth muscle relaxation and dilatation. 2 Perhaps in those patients whose digital ulcers failed to heal while they were receiving sildenafil, the failures were the result of fibrosis and/or occlusion of vessels that did not allow further vasodilatation.
ISSN:0003-4967
1468-2060
DOI:10.1136/ard.2004.034488